Calling all Deadheads: 7 Walkers are the new band from Grateful
Dead co-founding drummer Bill Kreutzmann and Louisiana-born
slide- guitar wiz Papa Mali. While that alone should be enough
to fill the room, skeptics might want more of a taste before
they buy. So, add bassist Reed Mathis (of Tea Leaf Green)
and instrumentalist Matt Hubbard (of Willie Nelson’s band)
to the mix, toss in a batch of brand new tunes co-written
with Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, sprinkle with a
selection of Dead classics and songs from the Papa Mali catalog,
and you’ve got a pretty good trip ahead of you. The band will
be in Troy tonight, with McLovins opening. (May 27, 7:30
PM, $25, 425 River St., Troy, 274-0553)

Keith Kane Band

Bread
and Jam Cafe, Friday

It seems like a huge coup that Bread and Jam Cafe was able
to book the solo project from a member of a platinum-selling
alt-rock band. Though, honestly, it would be more of an event
if it were Vertical Horizon main singer and songwriter Matt
Scannell playing Cohoes this weekend. Rather, we get Keith
Kane, the band’s guitarist and sometimes vocalist, who brings
along a solid catalog of his own tunes, backed by a band featuring
members of the Pat McGee Band. As for Kane’s regular band,
Scannell is currently off touring the country with poof-haired
’80s hitmaker Richard Marx. (May 28, 8 PM, $10, 130 Remsen
St., Cohoes, 326-2275)

Steve
Lehman Octet

EMPAC,
Friday

We’d use this space to try and describe for you precisely
how alto saxophonist Steve Lehman reconciles jazz with “the
esoteric math- and computer-driven compositional principles
of ‘spectral harmony,’” but we’ve only got 67 words left.
So, just understand that Lehman is one of few players around
genuinely concerned with taking the form forward. A student
of Anthony Braxton, he’s been named a “rising star” in Downbeat
four years running, received accolades in The Wire
and The New York Times, performed with Braxton, Dave
Burrell, Meshell Ndegeocello and Vijay Iyer, and composed
pieces for large orchestras, chamber ensembles, and electro-acoustic
showcases. His octet’s sound is a cacophonous mixture of horns,
drums and vibraphone. (May 28, 8 PM, $15, 110 8th St.,
Troy, 276-4135)

East
Durham Irish Festival

East
Durham, Saturday-Sunday

For us Albanians, St. Patrick’s Day marks the moment when
it’s OK to finally emerge from our winter hovels, wear plastic
hats, kiss red-headed lassies, and get shit-canned in the
great outside. The East Durham Irish Festival is our opportunity
to do all the same, and get sunburned in the process. OK,
it’s about a lot more than that. The two-day Irish heritage
festival features plenty of live music by the likes of Black
47, Hair of the Dog, Barleyjuice, and the Kitty Kelly Band,
pipe bands, step dancing performances, food and craft vendors,
free camping, and a children’s area called “Land of the Leprechaun.”
All this and a proper mass on Sunday morning, which should
clear your conscience from the night before. (May 29-30,
$13-$16, Michael J. Quill Irish Cultural and Sports Center,
East Durham, 634-2286)

D.R.I.

Bogie’s,
Monday

We can’t be the only ones who wanted to fuck shit up when
we read that Dirty Rotten Imbeciles were coming to Albany.
But it’s entirely possible—the Houston-based thrashcore band
never quite crossed over to the mainstream metal scene, despite
recording the influential 1987 album (Crossover) that
was responsible, in many eyes, for the early melding of hardcore
punk and heavy metal. This Memorial Day, the band—whose lineup
still boasts original singer and guitarist (respectively)
Kurt Brecht and Spike Cassidy—will headline the Dirty Rotten
BBQ at Bogie’s, with a half dozen other bands. (May 31,
4 PM, $13, 297 Ontario St., Albany, 482-4393)

Also
Noted

Tonight
(Thursday) at the Mabee Farm Historic Site in
Rotterdam, it’s the first of this year’s Howlin’
at the Moon concerts, featuring the Riverview
Ramblers, Mike Poulopoulos, and Kyle
Miller (7 PM, free, 887-5073). . . . Casper
Land in Troy is the spot for the experimental
sounds tomorrow (Friday) night, with nontraditional
performances by Mark Denardo, NonHorse,
and Loud Objects (7:30 PM, free, casperelectronics.com).
. . . Artists align at the Wood Theater on Friday
night to raise funds for the Center for Recovery,
a drug and alcohol counseling center in Glens
Falls; Recovery Rocks features performances from
George Walsh, Mike LaPoint, and
Tom Burke (8 PM, call for price, 798-9663).
. . . The Bearsville Theatre hosts a benefit concert
for the Woodstock Day School on Friday, with performances
by Blondie’s Deborah Harry and Chris Stein,
Tracy Bonham, and several more (8 PM, $40,
845-679-4406). . . . Saturday at Mass MoCA, catch
the new-old-school sounds of Carolina Chocolate
Drops along with the Duke and the King,
the rootsy outfit headed by Simone Felice of the
Felice Brothers(8 PM, $22, $10 students,
413-662-2111). . . . Saturday marks the release
of the Don Fury-produced first album from “hardcore
skater punk” outfit Buzzard; they’ll mark
the occasion with a show at Divinyl Revolution
(formerly Last Vestige) in Saratoga Springs (9
PM, free, 306-5167). . . . A lot of things slow
down for Memorial Day weekend, but mall punk never
rests: Sunday at Northern Lights, it’s an emo
parade with Mayday Parade, Sing It Loud
and Sparks the Rescue (6 PM, $14, 371-0012).
. . . The artistic fallout from the fire at Tess’
Lark Tavern continues: On Tuesday, Keith Pray’s
Big Soul Ensemble will move their monthly
stand (which they’ve held for nearly four years)
to the Van Dyck, where they’ll remain until the
Lark reopens (8PM, free, 348-7999).